Permanent residence permit in Cyprus is valid for up to five years and can be extended until its expiration date.

In which cases is a permanent permit issued?

Permission is issued in one of the following cases:

1. If you have lived in Cyprus with a temporary residence permit for at least 5 years. During this time, you were not allowed to leave Cyprus for more than three months. You must have an employment contract that is permanent or for a minimum of 18 months.
2. If you are buying real estate in Cyprus for at least 300,000 euros. This option is also known as "fast". If you decide to apply for permanent residence in Cyprus using the quick option, your application will be considered within 2 months.
3. If you are married to a citizen of Cyprus. Applicants who are married to a Cyprus citizen, their minor children from a previous marriage, and the parents are allowed to apply for a residence permit for an indefinite period, which gives them the right to reside.

What conditions must be met to obtain this type of permit?

• You must prove that you purchased the property with funds obtained outside of Cyprus

• You must have an annual income of at least 30,000 Euros, which you receive from external sources

• You must deposit 30,000 Euros in a Cypriot bank, where they will be frozen for three years, after which you will have access to them again.

• If you have a dependent (children under 18 and a spouse), you must have an additional annual income of 5,000 Euros per year for each of them

• For parents who are dependent on both you and your spouse, you must have an additional 8,000 Euros per year for each of them.

• You can bring dependent children between the ages of 18 and 25

• Prove that you are not going to work in Cyprus

• You must enter Cyprus at least every two years to maintain your permanent resident status.

What gives you a permanent residence permit?

A permanent residence permit in Cyprus grants the holder similar rights to Cypriot citizens, including:

• Unrestricted access to employment and self-employment opportunities

• Access to freedom of movement within the EU

• Access to social assistance and social protection

• Access to tax benefits.

Cyprus offers two types of gold visas, one of which leads to citizenship and the other to permanent residence. The difference is reduced to the required amount of investment.

How to get citizenship at the expense of a gold visa?

To obtain Cypriot citizenship through investment, the applicant must purchase real estate worth at least 2 million Euros.

How to get a permanent residence at the expense of a gold visa?

For permanent residence, the need for investment is less and is 300,000 Euros.

What are the requirements for obtaining Cypriot citizenship through investment?

To obtain citizenship for investment in Cyprus, you must:

• Purchase real estate worth at least 2 million Euros (excluding VAT). It can be a single property or several properties worth up to 2 million Euros.

• If you want to include your parents or your husband's parents: you must invest an additional 500,000 Euros in the purchase of real estate.

• Make a donation of 100,000 Euros to the Cypriot Government Research and Development Fund and another 100,000 Euros to the Cyprus Land Development Organization. In total, the total investment should amount to 2.2 million Euros.

• Have no criminal record.

• Bid on the investment before applying for a Gold Visa.

• Transfer money for investments from abroad.

• Have the necessary documents to apply (e.g., documents for the purchase of real estate, proof of availability and legal funds, police records, etc.).

There is no obligation to live in Cyprus before applying for citizenship, and no language test is required. If you meet the criteria, you will become a citizen of Cyprus within six months.

What are the benefits of Cypriot citizenship through investment?

If you obtain Cypriot citizenship for an investment, you will enjoy the same rights as all Cypriot citizens, as well as members of your family.

This includes the following:

• You can live, work and study anywhere in the European Union.

• You do not need to take a language test or an interview.

• You do not need to spend time living in Cyprus before applying for citizenship, but you must have a residence permit for six months before completing your application.

• Your spouse and children under the age of 18 will also receive citizenship that can be passed on to future generations.

• If you have adult children who are still studying and thus dependent on you, you can also include them in the application. They must not be over 28 years old and not married.

• You can include your parents and your spouse's parents if you invest another 500,000 Euros.

• You can rent the purchased property.

• In five years, you can reduce your investment to 500,000 Euros, which you must keep for life. This means that you can sell your original property.

• You can make a payment through a company or fund with which you have a relationship.

• Dual citizenship is allowed.

What is the process of applying for a gold visa to obtain citizenship?

You must apply for Cypriot citizenship at the Ministry of the Interior after completing your investment. You can apply yourself or hire a legal representative.

Description of the process of applying for Cypriot citizenship for investments:

• Enter the country with a regular entry visa.

• Apply to the Ministry of Interior of Cyprus, which will work with the Ministry of Finance to process your application.

• Your application will be sent to the Council of Ministers for approval.

• You will receive a residence permit for a period of six months, which you can use to stay in Cyprus or travel to and leave the country until the application is completed.

• After completing the application, you will receive a Certificate of Naturalization.

• You can then apply for a Cypriot passport and ID card at the local office where you live.

If a family member joins you, all of your applications must be submitted at once.

In addition, after applying, before you become a full citizen of Cyprus, you must attend the ceremony before the Registrar of the Cypriot Court.

What are the requirements for obtaining residency in Cyprus through investment?

To obtain a permanent residence card, the following requirements must be met:

• You must purchase a property worth at least 300,000 Euros

• You have to deposit 30,000 Euros in a bank in Cyprus. The money will be kept for three years.

• You must prove that you have at least 30,000 Euros a year for yourself and another 5,000 Euros for each dependent (spouse and children)

• If you include your parents or your spouse's parents: you must have an additional 8,000 Euros in your income.

• You should have no criminal record.

What are the benefits of residing in Cyprus through investment?

The benefits of obtaining residency in Cyprus through investment include the following:

• You and your family members will be allowed to travel to other countries of the European Union.

• You can also include members of your family (spouses and minor children) in the application. If you have adult children (under 25), you can also include them in the application if they depend on you financially (if they are still students).

• You can include your parents or your spouse's parents in the application.

• The permanent residence card is valid for life.

• You do not need to live in Cyprus to have a residence permit. You should only attend one day every two years.

• Permanent residence will also result in obtaining a Cypriot passport, but only after seven years of continuous residence.

Unlike citizenship, you and your family members are not allowed to do paid work in Cyprus. Your income must be from abroad.

What is the process of applying for a gold visa for permanent residence in Cyprus?

To apply for permanent residence in Cyprus under the Golden Visa program, you must first enter the country on an entry visa and then apply to the Cypriot immigration authorities.

An approximate plan of the application procedure is as follows:

• Enter Cyprus using a regular entry visa, which you can apply for at the Cypriot embassy in your country.

• Complete your investment and apply for permanent residence with the Civil Registry and Migration Board (CRMD). You can apply yourself or use a legal representative. You must have all the necessary documents.

• Your application will be sent to the Ministry of Interior of Cyprus.

• The application processing time is about two months.

• If the decision is positive, you will receive a letter of approval.

• Within one year of approval, you and your family members must enter Cyprus and contact the Civil Registry and Migration Board to provide your biometric information and obtain your permanent residence cards.

What documents are required to obtain a Gold Visa in Cyprus?

The documents required to apply for a Cyprus Gold Visa depend on the type of investment you are making and other specific factors such as your nationality.

In general, you will need the following:

• Confirmation of investment - acquisition of property, donation, etc.

• Proof of availability, ownership and transfer of necessary funds.

• Your resume with detailed information about your professional and academic qualifications.

• Civil documents such as birth and marriage certificates.

• Passport size photo.

• Police records showing that you did not have a criminal record.

• If you are applying for dependent adult children: proof that they are being educated.

What are the recommendations for paperwork?

• All documents you submit must be in English or Greek. If this is not the case, they must be translated into English by a certified translator or consular authorities.

• All documents you submit must be legalized. If your country of origin is part of the Apostille Convention, you need an apostille stamp. If your country is not a member of the Apostille Convention, your documents must be legalized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of your country, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Cyprus and the Embassy of Cyprus in your country.

Apostille Convention is a convention that abolishes the requirement to legalize foreign official documents.

Do I need to live in Cyprus to renew my Golden Visa?

No, you do not need to live in Cyprus full time to renew your Golden Visa.

First, if (through the Golden Visa program) you have obtained Cypriot citizenship for investment, you are considered a full Cypriot citizen - this means that there is no minimum stay requirement. In fact, a Cypriot passport allows you to live in other EU countries.

If you use the Golden Visa program to obtain a permanent residence card, you only need to visit Cyprus for two years, a maximum of one day to renew it.

Naturalization allows a foreign citizen to obtain Cypriot citizenship. The procedure is especially in each case.

What is naturalization?

Naturalization is the last step in the process of integration into the Cypriot way of life. This gives you the right to vote and stand for election.

As Cyprus recognizes dual citizenship, applicants for a Cypriot passport do not risk losing their original citizenship, provided that the country of origin also allows dual citizenship.

Who can apply for naturalization?

An application for Cypriot citizenship can be submitted by foreigners who have lived in Cyprus for a total of 7 years of legal residence (2555 days in Cyprus) before the date of application. The applicant must have resided in Cyprus for the last year before applying. For applicants who are children or parents of Cypriot citizens, the time required is 5 years, not 7.

What are the requirements for naturalization?

The candidate must meet a number of criteria:

- Has no criminal record both in Cyprus and outside Cyprus;

- is not subject to sanctions and is not wanted by Europol, Interpol;

- resides legally in the Republic of Cyprus at all times; 

- has legally crossed the borders of Cyprus;

- has real estate in rent or ownership;

- is financially independent and has a stable income to support himself and his family members of at least €2,500. This includes income from full-time paid employment or income from other stable and legal sources;

- has a B1 level of Greek (by written examination) and an understanding of the social and political elements of Cypriot society.

In addition, for highly qualified foreign professionals, the Greek language requirements are as follows: A2 level is sufficient. Under this condition, you can apply for a passport after 5 years. If the talented foreigner speaks Greek at B1 level, the naturalization period is reduced to 4 years. 

The applicant must prepare a complete list of trips and departures from Cyprus (based on the stamps in the passport), which should confirm the above movements. Each family member must submit a separate application and pay the required fee.

How much time does the review of an application for naturalization take?

Consideration of the application will take 1-2 years.

What documents are required?

• Birth certificate

• Conviction information

• Marriage certificate

• Copies of all pages of all the applicant's passports with the indicated arrival and departure to Cyprus

• Arrival and departure list

• Newspaper advertisements in two consecutive publications mentioning that the applicant had applied for naturalization

• Two passport-size photos

• CV and work certificate.

How much does it cost to apply for naturalization?

Application - 500 Euros. Plus, if approved, you have to pay 500 Euros.